Oneida getting $1.6 million DPW garage

State money will pay for housing for the homeless, repairs to culverts and stream banks and a new $1.9 million DPW garage in Oneida

State will pay for new facility; county also getting money for homeless housing, repairs to stream banks, culverts.

ONEIDA>> The City of Oneida will receive $1.9 million to build a new Department of Public Works garage beyond the Oneida Creek flood zone.

The city will abandon the current site on Sconondoa Street, dangerously close to Oneida Creek, for a safer location on Harden Street.

Ward 6 Councilor Thomas Simchik said the larger garage will allow the city to keep its expensive vehicles indoors.

Another $800,000 will fund a countywide effort to improve culverts and stream banks.

As part of the “Capital for a Day” initiative, Governor Andrew Cuomo and his cabinet visited Syracuse this past week to meet with leaders from across Central New York to discuss ideas for strengthening economies and communities throughout the region.

During his visit, Cuomo unveiled a 47-point plan to inject over $62 million into workforce training, higher education, infrastructure and housing in the region.

The plan includes: •$18 million toward SUNY’s Labs to Jobs Consortium at Morrisville State College;

•$12.9 million to construct an Alternative Fuels Facility at Morrisville State College;

•Expanded housing opportunities for homeless families in Madison County through A $1 million grant to the Madison County Community Action Program to construct permanent housing;

•$2.5million to assist Central New York farmers to implement best land management practices;

•$2.7 million for projects in the Madison County N.Y. Rising Community Reconstruction Plan (the new DPW garage is part of this);

•A strengthened snow removal fleet for rapid re- sponse during extreme weather conditions;

•$500,000 to support a statewide campaign combating the use of synthetic marijuana;

•Expanded access to Cazenovia Lake at Helen L. McNitt State Park in Madison County;

•A $50,000 investment in Cayuga and Madison County soil and water conservation districts for soil quality, greater crop yields and protect water resources from pollution;

•$150,000 in grants for agricultural waste collection programs in Madison County.

Madison County will receive $2.7 million of the total $62 million in order to address the potentially devastating recurrence of the June 28, 2013 flooding.

Oneida Mayor Max Smith said Cuomo’s 47-point plan is the biggest monetary assistance to Central New York since the construction of the Erie Canal. “It’s incredible,” Smith said.

State Sen. David Valesky, D-53, lauded the program. “By making our region the capital for the day, we’ve been able to bring an unparalleled level of focus and support to some of our most pressing needs and greatest opportunities, and I believe that this intense degree of partnership will yield dividends for Central New York long into the future,” he said.

Central New York was the third stop for Cuomo’s “Capital for a Day” initiative. Events in the Finger Lake and Mohawk Valley regions preceded the Syracuse visit.

JOLENE CLEAVER — THE ONEIDA DISPATCH The state will pay to replace the City of Oneida’s DPW garage in the flood zone on Sconondoa Street with a facility on Harden Street.

COURTESY OF GOVERNOR’S OFFICE Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, right, presides over an afternoon cabinet meeting, part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “Capital for a Day” in Liverpool. The day also included roundtable meetings with various local leaders, state agency commissioners and senior...